Anyone Can Be Capable of Love
by nuclearXsquid
Summary: REWRITTEN! What happens when Alex's friend's father turns out to be Yassen? And when she comes home, knowing the truth? Does Yassen really have a heart? Can Ari love him as a father, knowing what he is? NOT A ROMANCE! Completed with a sequel!
1. Father

**THIS STORY HAS BEEN EDITED COMPLETELY AS OF 11/4/08**

A/N: I would just like to inform the general public that my ficwas most definitely the first one about Yassen having a daughter. If anyone would like to argue that, I can prove it through publishing dates. And no, his daughter is not an assassin, spy, or a lover of Alex. A couple things:

First Off, I'd like to say that this fic is absolutely NOT a romance fic. If you see romance in it, I will personally beat my head against a metal pole until I die. That's how much I hate Alex Rider romance fics. Ari does NOT become a spy or an assassin, either. Just wanted to clear that up.

Second, time lines have been a big issue here. For the sake of Yassen not returning from the dead and such, it takes place before Eagle Strike.

Third, I'm editing this story a great deal because I read a very informative article and I want to clean up my stories now.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series. If I did, Alex would not even like Sabina, they would be friends.

* * *

It was lunchtime, and Alex found his friends Ari Ivanovna and Tom Harris sitting at their usual table. He sat down and they were soon joined by a few others that didn't shy away from the drastic character change Alex had been going through in the past few months. It really didn't bother Alex, he just wished some people would get over themselves.

"So are we all set to go over to your house after school?" Tom inquired.

Alex nodded and forked some beans into his mouth, cringing at the taste of school food. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon with some of his closest friends. They had been planning this day for a month.

"I can't wait!" Ari chimed in. "I definitely want to play SPUD!" Despite her being Russian, there was very little of it in her voice because she's lived most her life in London.

Tom groaned. "You always want to play SPUD."

She stuck her tongue out.

"Real mature," Tom muttered. Ari took her fork and threw it a Tom.

Alex grinned at his two best friends bickering. They seemed to do it constantly, but it was always good-natured.

"We probably won't have enough people. I only really invited five." Alex said, trying to distract them for a little while.

"What?" Tom laughed. "It's almost my birthday, you should have invited more people!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "I think it's good to have a partly full of people that don't spread rumors about you. Therefore, I only had five people who didn't fit into the rumor-spreading category."

Ari glared at him. "Tell me who it was so I can kill them or I'll beat you up." Of course, she was tiny – her head barely reached Alex's shoulder – so she could never do any harm to anyone. Nor did she really mean to do anyone harm.

Alex sighed. The problem with Ari, sometimes, was she was too quick to judge and way too protective of her friends. It annoyed him when she would talk about killing people that were mean to him. She had no idea. Of course, he felt terrible keeping the truth from his friends, but it was what he had to do. "Don't worry about it, I don't."

Ari sighed. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to the band room to practice my flute for the last little bit of lunch. Do whatever guy-stuff you enjoy." She got up and left.

Alex and Tom began talking about guy-stuff, according to Ari. All too soon, the lunch period ended and it was back to classes for the three.

* * *

Alex Rider sat in chemistry, almost drooling onto his paper from boredom. His eccentric teacher looked at the whole class with way too wide eyes before moving onto the next slide.

There was a knock on the door, startling Alex from his daydreaming state.

The door opened and the Headmaster stepped into the lab-like room. "Pardon the interruption," he said. "But could Ari Ivanovna please come with me?"

Faces turned to look at the small, eccentric girl in the seat next to Alex's. The teacher nodded and Ari closed her note-free-doodle-filled notebook and picked up her backpack, following the headmaster out the door.

Alex would have thought nothing of his friend talking to the headmaster if it was not for the man he saw a glimpse of standing right outside the door.

The sight of him made Alex's blood run cold.

It was Yassen Gregorovitch.

The first thought Alex had, was that Yassen was here for him. But then, why would the headmaster have asked Ari to step outside? Alex immediately dismissed the notion that it was about him. Not only was it selfish, but improbable.

Nothing made sense, so Alex got up quietly and got a bathroom pass from the teacher after a lot of begging.

* * *

Ari sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair inside the headmaster's office while the headmaster sat in his comfortable office chair behind his desk. Next to Ari sat a tall man who had stayed silent the entire time they walked to the office. Ari couldn't fathom what was going on.

The headmaster decided to break the somewhat awkward silence. "Ari." He began. "This is Yassen Gregorovitch."

"Um, hi," Ari said, looking at the man closer now. Nothing really stood out about him. He had fair hair, and that was about it. He looked like a regular man that you would see on the street, then promptly forget.

The headmaster continued when Yassen said nothing and Ari didn't elaborate. "When your mother died at birth, your father couldn't bear the grief. A month later, he realized he could not care for you. His job had him traveling abroad, and he couldn't really take a newborn child with him. So he put you in a foster home, and left.

"Over the years, he has tried to keep track of you, but could not find you up until now." Ari stared at him. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"Ari Ivanovna, and well, Gregorovitch too, this man, Yassen, is your father."

Ari felt her eyes grow wide, much like her erratic chemistry teacher. "What?" she breathed, looking at the lean man again. He seemed to be assessing her as well. She cracked a knuckle, a bad habit of hers.

Yassen spoke for the first time. "It's nice to finally see, you. Practically a woman. I apologize for not being able to meet you sooner." His voice had absolutely no accent unlike her own.

Ari felt herself blushing. "It's okay," she muttered.

"And," he continued. He spoke awkwardly, as if he didn't have heart-to-heart conversations a lot. "It would mean a lot to me if you came to live with me. As family."

Ari drew in a breath. It was what she had always dreamed of, finding her father and living with him.

But then, her foster parents were very caring. She loved them both dearly, but they lacked in the bonding quality. They were more friends then family.

But would she want to leave her friends behind? She realized she had no idea where he lived, if she would have to change schools, if she would travel with him, if that was still his job.

"Would I have to switch schools?" Ari asked, biting her lip. She immediately felt like she was implying that she'd rather stay with her friends than get to know her own father. She pushed away the selfish feelings quickly.

"Not at all, I have a house close to this school." Ari felt her heart expanding. It was something she always dreamed of, and now it was coming true.

"Yes, I'd love to live with you. Thank you, Father," she whispered the last word, a little uncomfortable with the word actually rolling off her tongue.

He smiled, and though it didn't look forced, it looked like he wasn't used to it.

* * *

Alex felt his heart beat louder and louder as he eavesdropped, not wanting to believe that Yassen was capable of having a child… and Ari couldn't live with him! He was an assassin for crying out loud!

The door began to open and Alex tried to move, but it was too late. Yassen had stepped out and caught sight of Alex, followed closely by Ari. Yassen made no sign of recognition, and Alex did the same.

"Hi Alex! Guess what? This is my father!" she said, pointing to Yassen, her excitement was obvious. It also made her oblivious to the tension crackling through the air between Alex and Yassen.

"And Father… Yassen… Dad…" she couldn't seem to decide which one best fit him. "Father," she decided. She looked up at him to see if he was fine with that, apparently he was. "This is my friend Alex Rider."

Alex tried not to wince, and managed a "Pleasure to meet you," at the man who had almost gotten him killed many, many times. Not to mention killed his uncle, of course.

Yassen nodded in return, his face not showing anything, blue eyes cold.

"So, are you going back to class Ari?" he asked.

Ari giggled. "Look at the clock, silly. The final bell will ring in three… two… one…" Silence. Ari frowned. "That makes me sad!" The bell rang. She grinned.

Students poured out into the hallways, weaving around the three of them just standing there.

"I have to get my stuff from chemistry, but you're still coming tonight, right?" Alex said, glancing at Yassen worriedly.

Ari smiled. "Of course." She seemed to remember Yassen standing there. "Well, what would be the best time to bring my stuff over?" she cringed at the awkwardness and rudeness of the question.

"Since you seem to be busy today, tomorrow is fine. I'll pick you up after school," Yassen said.

Ari let out a happy squeak and hugged them both, which was awkward for both Alex and Yassen. "Okay!"

Yassen nodded. "Good,"

Alex excused himself and walked away, the whole time feeling Yassen's eyes boring holes into the back of Alex's neck.

"That boy seems to attract trouble," Yassen commented dryly.

"Yeah..." Ari muttered. "But he's fun to hang out with. The party tonight will be great!"

"Party?"

"Yeah that's why I'm going over."

"Oh."

"Why? Did you think it was something else?" Ari asked, smirking.

"It doesn't hurt to be protective," Yassen half-joked. Ari grinned. "I will talk to your foster parents tonight while your gone. Is that okay with you?"

Ari nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then, or if you're still there when I get home."

"Goodbye." Yassen reached out to her like he was going to embrace Ari, but decided on patting the top of her head.

Ari giggled at the awkwardness and stopped at her locker before going to Alex's house.

* * *

Who would have thought that our dear assassin would feel awkward? Silly Yassen.


	2. Oh Dear

There's this kid named Alex at my school. He almost looks like Alex Rider, too, except his hair is lighter. And the Alex in my class used to live in Moscow, Russia.

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Alex Rider. If I did, I'd have a nice house by the beach…

* * *

As it turned out, everyone had a great time at Alex's house. The only problem was, Alex seemed... distracted. It wasn't unusual for him to be that way, but it was different that usual that night.

When Ari returned to her foster parents home, they were up waiting for her.

"Your father was here a little bit ago," Margret, Ari's foster mother said.

"Yeah, he came to my school," Ari said, sitting down in the living room across from her foster parents. "He seems nice." She was about to ask about living with him, when Margret began to speak again.

"We think of you like our own child, you know that. We wouldn't want to give you up for the world. But we also want what's best for you, and we agree that what's best for you would be living with your father. Just know we love you, and you'll always be welcome here."

Ari was touched. "Thank you so much. I will never forget you guys."

She stayed up with her foster parents and sat with them as they watched a movie. It was great spending time with them and Ari knew she would miss them.

* * *

True to his word, Yassen came to pick Ari up after school. They drove for less than five minutes and pulled up to a small town house.

They got out of the car and Yassen unlocked the front door of the house. He walked in, followed by a curious Ari.

The house was very clean. Spotless, in fact. It was very nice. The only pictures displayed in the cozy living room were of a young woman smiling beautifully. Ari was surprised to realize it was her mother. The similarities between the two were very obvious.

The second picture was of a rundown street. Under the picture read "Moscow, 1973." Ari looked closer at it. "My home the year I was born," Yassen said, noticing Ari's distraction.

Ari nodded, not quite knowing what to say.

The kitchen and sitting room were kind of combined in a spacious way, that was both elegant, and made the rooms look much bigger than they really were.

Yassen went up the stairs, Ari trailing behind.

"That is my room," he said pointing to a door. "That is the bathroom," he said, pointing to another. "And this is your room," he said.

There was one last room at the end of the hall. Ari was about to ask him about it, but sensing her question, he began talking first. "That is my office. It's the one room I cannot allow you to go into. I'm sorry. Not to worry, I won't disappear into it often.

Curious about her room, Ari took a peek. Inside, it was plain. There was nothing much in the room. Just a wardrobe, desk, and a bed.

"It's nice," Ari said and smiled, coming out of her room.

A ringtone began to play. Yassen pulled out his cell phone. "Sorry," he said. "It's for work,"

"I'll get my stuff out of the car," Ari said. Yassen nodded, and with a quick wave, she left.

* * *

"Yes?" the Russian asked.

"I have a job for you." A cold, smooth voice said.

"Who?"

"Not kill, but kidnap the daughter of Nicholas Revenoal. Bring her to me and I will hold her for ransom. Her father is one of the most wealthiest people in Whales. He will pay big. One fourth goes to you."

"No." Yassen knew it was almost suicide to refuse a job by… this man. But his daughter had just come home. "As you know, I am on break from jobs for at least this month."

Suddenly the man was furious. "You will regret this, Gregorovitch."

The line went dead.

* * *

The next day was a Friday. Ari was excited, and Alex was still as distracted as he was the day of his party.

"What's wrong with you?" Ari finally asked while they were walking to chemistry.

"I... I need to talk to you. Seriously. Can you come over sometime this afternoon?" Alex said.

Ari nodded. "I'll drop my stuff at home and then I'll come over. Or... do you need help in some class? We covered a lot in history when you were out sick."

Alex shook his head. "Nah, I just need to talk."

"Mkay," Ari said as they reached their class.

* * *

Ari rode her bike home. She was happy she lived so close to school now. Before, she had to be driven. She dropped off her stuff, told Yassen where she was going (he answered with simply a nod), and rode her bike over to Alex's house.

Alex's housekeeper, Jack, answered the door.

"Hey Ari," she smiled. "Come in. Alex is upstairs."

Ari smiled in return and went to find Alex.

Alex was on his computer and listening to music when Ari walked in. "'Lo Ari," he said, not looking up.

"'Ello Alex," Ari responded, sitting cross-legged on his bed. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Actually, it's about Yassen, your dad." He turned to look at her now, his face serious and something in his eyes looked much too old for a fourteen-year-old.

"Wait, you know him?" Ari asked.

Alex nodded.

"What about him?" Ari asked, confused.

Alex took a deep breath and began. "You know when my uncle died? I didn't go to school for three weeks. But I wasn't sick or in mourning or anywhere everyone thought I was.

"My uncle – and father – worked for the MI6. They were both spies. My uncle died on his mission, and the MI6 blackmailed me to go finish it. And the other long absences? They were missions too."

Ari couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "You're trying to tell, me that you're a spy?" She laughed again. "And what's this got to do with my father? I expect you'll try to convince me he was a spy too…"

Alex looked almost hurt that she didn't believe him. "No, you're father is an assassin who has almost killed or gotten me killed on various occasions. He killed my uncle."

This caused Ari to laugh even more. "My dad?" she asked, still laughing. Alex nodded grimly.

Ari was hysterical now. She had to clutch her arms to her stomach to keep her sides from hurting because of her laughter.

"Ari…" Alex whispered. There was a pained expression on his face.

Ari finally managed to get a hold of herself and stopped laughing. "You're being serious, aren't you?" she asked in disbelief. Alex nodded.

"Where's the proof?" she asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"I want proof that my father is some killer and proof that you are some teen spy slash James Bond thing."

Alex sighed and went to the bottom drawer of his dresser. Out of it, he took a CD player. After the goons took it away from him he got it back after the SAS took over the academy. He was surprised MI6 had never asked for or wanted back.

"This is one of the gadgets they gave me."

"A CD player?" Ari asked skeptically.

Alex turned it on, still with the same CD inside. A saw blade jutted out and Ari jumped backwards, barely saving herself from falling off the bed.

Alex turned it off. "What the heck was that?" Ari said.

"One of the gadgets."

Ari looked at him more seriously. "So… you're really being serious about this?"

Alex nodded.

"Wicked," Ari said.

Alex just smiled and said nothing.

"Wait, and what about my father? Is he really an assassin?" She asked, a frown on her face.

Alex nodded. "Unless he's given it up – which to my knowledge, he hasn't – yes, he still is."

Ari let out a low whistle. "Wow… I wonder why he didn't tell me…"

Alex shrugged. "Maybe he thought you would hate him or be terrified of him?"

"That's why you were acting so strange at school…" Ari said.

"I thought you didn't notice it."

"Alex you're my friend. If you're acting strange, I'm bound to notice.

Alex nodded. "I see…"

They sat there for a while, Ari contemplating this new news, and Alex thinking about his past missions.

* * *

_Oh my god, he kills people! That's what my father freaking does for a living. What the heck? Why can't he be a normal boring father who sits behind a desk all day?_

_Because it isn't as exciting as having a dad as an assassin._

_It is kind of exciting, I mean, I wonder if he has been in any, you know, near death situations… I'm sure he has been loads of time… and act all ninja-y and escape with his awesome ninja skills! And then we would go live in Japan and he could teach me to be a ninja too! Wait… getting off topic here…_

_You would like that, wouldn't you?_

_No, not killing. It's sure an interesting job. Way more exciting than an accountant or someone…_

_You think that would be cool, though, don't you?_

_No… Maybe… Yes. It would be cool. Especially to be like Alex. A spy!_

_But it _would _be cooler to be as you say "ninja-y," like your father._

_Yeah, I guess._

_So don't be afraid of him. He's not getting paid to assassinate you, and he's not some wild maniac that is going to randomly shoot you._

_Yeah… that's true… I wonder how many guns he has._

_They're probably in his office. If he's not home when you get there, you should look!_

_But, that's wrong! What if then he _does _decide to kill moi?_

_He won't._

_Yeah, you're right._

* * *

"Hello?" Ari called out as she entered the apartment. No answer.

After pacing around her room for a moment, she decided to have just a tiny peek.

She walked up the stairs silently, as if making noise would somehow inform Yassen of her whereabouts.

The office door was locked. "Oh well! I guess I can't look." She said to herself. Then she remembered the doors to the band room. All it took was to push on it right above the handle and it will open.

She did just that, and true to the plot line, the door opened.

Inside was the messiest part of the house. Papers were everywhere and a desktop computer was left on. Sitting innocently in the corner was a ceiling-to-floor metal cabinet. Ari crept close to it. The doors to it were also locked, but after rooting around in the top desk drawer, Ari found a promising-looking key.

Sure enough, the doors swung open for her. Inside were many different guns and all sort of things that an assassin would need. She gulped.

Never having seen a gun before in real life, it terrified her, yet thrilled her, too. Nevertheless, she shouldn't be there.

She was about to lock the door and turn around when she heard a cold voice from the doorway. "What are you doing, Ari?"


	3. Guns and Boats

Disclaimer: No, last time I checked, my name wasn't Anthony Horowitz. You may want to check the person's story above me though!

* * *

_She was about to turn around when she heard a voice from the doorway. "What are you doing, Ari?"_

Ari spun around. Her father was leaning against the door frame, not looking happy. Not happy at all.

"Uh… I didn't hear you, um, come in," she stuttered.

"And did you think you would find me in my office closet?" he said with a hint of amusement. Although, Ari might have just been imagining it.

"Um… not, it's just…" she blabbed quickly. "I didn't know, yet I told myself to go look and I was confused…" She stopped and blinked a few times. "Are you really an assassin?"

His eyes flashed angrily, and then made his face a mask, showing no hint of emotion. "I suppose your friend Alex would have spun you a tale like that…"

"So it's true?"

"Yes."

Ari though about this for a moment. "You're not mad, are you?"

Still no emotion. "I thought you would at least be afraid of me. But I'm glad you're not. Or at least, that you're not showing it. And anyways, I don't kill children."

"But Alex said you almost did a few times."

"Ah, but I wasn't the direct cause. And anyways, he's not dead right now, is he?" Yassen raised an eyebrow.

"Um…" Ari grinned sheepishly. "No, he's alive."

Yassen looked sternly at her. "Now do you see why I asked you to not go into my office?"

"Yes," Ari agreed. "I won't intrude again, I'm sorry." She began to walk past him.

"Wait," he said. Ari stopped. "You're not the least bit appalled or terrified? If I was in your place, I would want to leave."

"Oh… no… I think It's cool…" Ari said. "Not the killing part, I mean, just that you're not some boring dad who sits behind a desk. You have an exciting job." She scolded herself for blabbing again.

Yassen seemed to digest this for a moment, and then nodded. "I see. But don't worry, I have postponed my work for the month, so I can spend more time to get to know you."

Ari smiled. "Thanks." And then she did something he didn't expect, she gave him a hug, which surprisingly, after a moment, he returned.

* * *

The man watching through the window of an adjacent apartment noted the two people's behavior. The girl had hugged him. And the assassin had hugged her back.

Maybe he cared for her? She was too young to be romantically involved, way, way, way too young. Maybe a daughter? Yes, that's what it had to be.

The man took out his cell phone and dialed his boss's number quickly.

"Yes?"

"I think I may have a better plan."

"I'm listening."

* * *

Alex paced his room. Was it right to have told Ari about her father? Of course it was. Then, why did he feel guilty? It was weird, and Alex couldn't make sense of it. Any of it.

Was Ari now resentful that she had moved in with her dad?

And how the heck did Yassen even have a daughter!?

Well... technically, anyone can have a daughter, Alex reminded himself. Just the idea of Yassen having one seemed so... wrong.

He wearily laid down on his bed, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It was Saturday. To Ari's enjoyment, the court trail to change guardians passed quickly without any troubles.

Ari's foster parents were sad to see her leave, for this was their last goodbye, though they assured her she would always be welcome.

The rest of her belongings fit into the trunk of her father's car, so she climbed in and they drove to the house again.

Her other stuff fit her new room nicely, and made it nice and… personal. It felt like _hers_.

She set up her laptop which she had bought in year nine with babysitting money, and set up her other things as well.

She hung two band posters on her wall, along with a few pictures of her and her friends, her mother, and her foster parents. For the first time, Ari wondered why she had never gotten a picture of her father.

She hung her clothes in her closet and went into the kitchen, on the hunt for food.

She grabbed a piece of flatbread and carried it back to her room, eating it on the way.

Ari logged onto her computer and checked her email. Nothing new but spam and an email from Tom. An instant messenger window popped up.

**RiD3R:** Lo, Ari.

It was Alex. Smiling, she typed her reply.

**.dead**: ello my love! (AN: the 'love' thing was in a joking manner, there is no relationship other than friendship between them)

**RiD3R**: So… how did it go? Was he pissed at me?

**.dead**: Um, okay. He was surprised I wasn't, like, scared of him. And he said he was on temporary leave from his... clients to get to know me better.

**RiD3R**: Oh, okay.

**.dead**: so… hows you?

**RiD3R**: pretty good…

**RiD3R**: sorry, I have to go, Jack says it's time for dinner… bye!

**.dead**: byee! See you in school on Monday!

_RiD3R is offline_

Ari shut down her computer and went into the kitchen. Her father had been gone, shopping for real food, which left Ari with nothing to do.

She turned on the TV, randomly flipping through channels, skipping past the boring infomercials.

She settled with a movie. It was an American film called Air Force One. It looked pretty good, and Ari soon got the idea of what was going on. The president's plane was hijacked and he had to fight off the terrorists who were holding his family hostage.

Almost as soon as it was off, Yassen walked through the door carrying several large bags of groceries.

"Wow… how much did you get?" she asked in awe.

"Oh…um… is it too much?"

"No, it's perfect. I eat a lot, though I stay skinny, it's weird."

"You must have a high metabolism."

"Oh," Ari blinked.

Ari helped Yassen carry the bags into the kitchen and they had a nice dinner, talking about their lives, unknowingly watched by the man in the adjacent house window.

* * *

Sunday morning went by fast. Neither of them had any desire to go to church, so both of them slept in.

Ari woke to knocking on the front door. Her father must not have heard it, he was further away.

Ari answered it, even though she was wearing pajama pants and an old t-shirt. "Hello?" she asked, amazed at how bright out it was already.

Something cold touched her forehead and Ari thought she might die just there. The man at the door had a gun pointing at her head. "Don't speak," he hissed, pressing harder. "Come with me." Terrified, Ari nodded.

A bullet whizzed by the man that was holding Ari. He grabbed her neck with one hand, sticking Ari in front of himself, and with the other hand, shooting back into the house.

Ari briefly caught a glimpse of Yassen inside.

Struggling the whole way, Ari was dragged into the backseat of a black car. The doors slammed shut and locked.

A bullet hit the back window of the car. Ari tried not to scream, but the glass did not break.

This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't.

They drove for some while, and soon Ari lost any sense of direction, not that she was ever good at it anyways.

Soon they came to an old boathouse. Inside, was a small, sleek ski boat. The man shoved Ari in front of him and onto the front of the boat. A man took a seat on either side of her and one across from her. The fourth one drove the boat. She knew what she needed to do.

She had to find a way to get free and get out.

The boat wasn't going that fast. It wouldn't hurt to hit the water, would it?

The men weren't sitting _that_ close to Ari…

Catching them off guard, Ari vaulted clumsily over the side of the boat, cutting her arm on a sharp piece of metal.

Hitting the water at the speed they were going was like hitting a brick wall. Ari struggled to stay above the water, fighting against her clothes which were dragging her under.

She checked around for the boat, but couldn't see it. She took a deep breath and began to swim for shore.

The roar of the boat's motor got louder. Taking a deep breath, Ari dove under the water, swimming down, trying to escape the men.

With alarm, Ari felt a cold hand clasp the back of her shirt.

Kicking and struggling, the man drug her back to the surface coughing and sputtering. They dumped her unceremoniously on the back platform of the boat.

Her wrists were pulled together and she felt cold metal against them. She cringed away from the men who just laughed at her.

This was not going to be easy.


	4. Snatched

Disclaimer: Nah, if I owned Alex Rider, I would have made the movie better.

* * *

Alex rode his bike to school. He knew it would be open, there was usually a secretary there on the weekend. It wasn't the usual lady, Mrs. Bedfordshire.

"Can I help you?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

Alex nodded. "Could I get the address of Ari Ivanovna?" She wasn't answering his calls and he wanted to hang out with her and Tom.

She typed s few quick commands into the computer. "You mean Ari Ivanovna Yassenovtich, right?"

Alex's mind spun at the names. He recalled Yassenovitch means daughter of Yassen, "Yes,"

She read out the address and Alex jotted it down in a map of the school. "If that's all, I'm busy."

Alex thanked her and left, climbing on his bike.

Arrived shortly and frowned at the sight of the door standing wide open. Yassen struck Alex as being a more private man.

Alex lingered in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Then Yassen came out of a closed doorway with two guns strapped to his thighs and attaching another inside his jacket.

Alex knocked lightly on the doorframe and Yassen's head snapped up, his hand automatically reaching for a gun. He stopped.

"Oh, it's you," he said coldly, fixing a strap on his leg.

"Um…" Alex wasn't sure what to say. "Where's Ari?"

Alex could have been wrong, but he was almost sure he had seen a brief flash of pain on his face.

"Gone." He grunted.

"Gone where?" Alex said, following him as he retrieved his shoes.

"Just Gone."

"Yassen! Where. Is. Ari?" Alex was beginning to worry now.

Obviously fed up with Alex, he practically yelled at him, "Those bastards took her! Now leave me be."

Alex felt like he had been slapped. "Huh?" was all he could manage to say.

Yassen turned on him. "They were coming for me. I refused a job by their leader, which is suicidal. Instead of just killing me, they took her…" he trailed off, looking out the still open door. He strode over to it and slammed it shut, locking the dead bolt.

Alex just watched with wide eyes, wondering what the heck was going on, despite Yassen just having told him. "But… but…" he searched for the right words, looking at the picture of Ari's mother sitting on the table.

Something indescribable flashed to Yassen's face, but then it was gone. "You think I am a monster, Alex. I am no such thing. I loved Ari's mother, and now Ari, very dearly. I will get her back. But you need to be away from here."

Alex tried to say something, but couldn't. It was like someone had cut off his tongue. His mouth moved like a fish's, but he formed no coherent words.

"Ari's mother, was killed just after she was born. It was the same type of thing. They were after me, but instead took the person I loved most. Everyone else thinks she died in birth, when she really died right after."

Alex couldn't say anything. He was amazed that Yassen was opening up to him at all. "Does Ari know about that?" he managed, stumbling over his words.

"No," Yassen said. "But I will tell her everything once I get her back."

Alex seemed unsure of what to say. "Can I help find her?" he blurted out. Not that he really wanted to spend time with Yassen.

"No,"

"But… she's like a sister to me. I don't want to just sit at home, hoping you found her."

Yassen glared at him for a moment. "No," he said forcefully. It was a job that he had to do alone.

Alex, on the other hand, was too stubborn to not help. He would help, and no one could stop him, he decided.

* * *

Ari was seated back on the boat, this time her wrists were handcuffed to a handle bar. They obviously didn't think the needed to tend to the deep cut on her arm that was still bleeding.

Watching another another trickle of blood run down her arm, she spoke to the silent men for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Why am I even here?" she demanded. The men said nothing. Deciding they were never going to tell her, she screamed out a profanity.

They still did not move, so she shouted more, yanking and pulling on the handcuffs. With alarm, she saw blood trickle from her wrist. Stupid chain.

A rough hand closed over her mouth, stopping the sound. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't have such a vocabulary," the man covering her mouth hissed. He let go.

Ari opened her mouth to call him something very, _very_ rude, when the man brought his hand down across her face.

The side of her face was stinging, so she kept silent.

"That's better," the man said, then sat down again.

She just glared at him through her curtain of hair, simply _thinking_ the ugly words.

* * *

Yassen assumed he knew where the men had gone. They had fled there years ago, when he was after them for killing his wife. He was able to kill three of them, but the fourth had escaped by boat.

And there he was. At the abandoned boat shack. He had found the car that they had taken Ari away in hiding in the bushes.

The only thing out of ordinary was the car and a shiny new metal chain and lock on the doors of the boathouse.

Yassen brought his foot around and kicked at the door.

His foot went through the wood. Repeating the movement, he made a nice-sized hole to fit through.

The boat lock was empty, but there were two sleek and powerful jet skies.

Yassen climbed on one and drove it out onto the water.

He knew they would stick to the shore with how small the boat was. And there was an airport north of where he was, and that seemed the most likely of where they were taking her, so he set out to the north.

* * *

It wasn't hard for Alex to follow Yassen's car on his bike. The streets were filled with people coming back from church and running errands.

Alex was able to keep a good distance behind, and yet not lose the car.

It was only on a winding lane heading for the ocean that Alex lost sight of the car.

But then, at the end of the rode, there was the car, and there was Yassen breaking into private property. Alex hid his bike in the bushes and entered the boathouse, just as Yassen was turning his jet ski north. Then, Yassen took off, leaving a somewhat disappointed Alex behind.

Alex surveyed the boathouse. It was rather run down. Both the boat lock and the Jet Ski lock were empty. But there was another jet ski waiting.

Alex climbed onto it and familiarized himself with the basic controls. His uncle had taken him to the lake to jet ski a few times.

He went out into the open water.

Then he felt his heart sink. He couldn't remember which way Yassen had gone. So much for being a teenage super-spy.

Frustrated, he punched the steering control. He looked around hopefully, but no other boats were in sight.

But, no. Off in the distance there was just barely a glint over the water.

The kind of glint that the sun makes when hitting metal.

Adjusting himself, he set off south in pursuit of the boat.

Getting closer, he saw it was a couple with their two young children. No, that surely wasn't them. Alex sighed. He would never find them.

He headed for shore, but the bottom of the Jet Ski caught on a sharp rock. The Jet Ski pitched forward. And Alex flew off, hitting his head on another rock and passing out, his body damaged and bruised.

The bottom of the Jet Ski had been ripped open, and as it passed over Alex, the sharp metal cut him.

The Jet Ski finally stopped when it hit the seawall, exploding into tiny bits, luckily missing Alex.

* * *

Yassen drove the Jet Ski all the way to the nearby airport. He hid it behind rocks in a small inlet.

Sure enough, the boat that was once in the boathouse was docked at the private airport dock.

He made his way across the property and went into the waiting area. Only an old couple was sitting there reading a brochure for the Bahamas.

Yassen walked over to the reception desk. It was a private airport, but he hoped the woman could help.

"Yes?" she asked, chewing mint gum.

"Could I look at the airplane schedules for today?"

She nodded and pushed a record book at him, chomping obnoxiously on her gum.

Yassen scanned the columns for anything that might help.

The three flights of the day were as follows:

_Flight 4307: Commercial. Bahamas National Air Port. Leaves at 3:30._

_Flight 2906: Commercial. New York, New York. Leaves at 4:15._

_Flight 3692: Private. Switzerland. Private Airport. Leaves at 6:45._

It had to be the third one. It was defiantly not the first, and the second one didn't make sense for them to take Ari there. He looked at more of the details of flight number 3692. It was a private jet, taking off from and landing in private airports. It had to be the one.

Yassen checked his watch. It was three o'clock now. That left plenty of time to find Ari and take out her captors. Setting a determined look on his face, he left, looking for where she might be.

First he looked for something that would give him an idea. He decided to check out the boat they arrived in first.

It was pretty clean. Only blood on a sharp piece of metal on the outside of the boat alerted him.

Could she have escaped? Yassen hoped that was the case, but the carpet was still damp, as though someone had been pulled aboard. His hopes that she had escaped vanished.

There were scratches on the handlebar, the kind that it makes if you rub metal on metal.

Yassen thought for a moment. It had to have been that after she jumped, they restrained her. Nobody would be stupid enough to jump out of a boat while still chained to it.

He took in all the extra blood and hoped to whatever God was out there that Ari was okay. He didn't want to lose her so quickly.

He stood up and headed back for the waiting building. Maybe there was a private waiting room. But no, the building wasn't large enough for another one.

Which left the terminal tower and the hangers.

Briefly, he recalled reading that the flight would go into hangar two briefly for customary routines and other stuff.

_Like transporting a kidnapped girl_, Yassen though offhandedly.

He entered through the back door, which was unlocked. Moving silently, he heard two voices.

"Geez, waiting here three hours. We should have snatched the girl later. We could at a bar right now." Someone said.

Another voice replied. "No, we did it when everyone was at church. No one would have heard if she had put up more of a fight. The assassin's gun would have alerted other people, too."

The first man sighed. "Well, it would have been nicer if the plane would have gotten here sooner."

"I can't disagree with that," the second man admitted.

"I can. Maybe it would have been nicer if you hadn't off 'snatched' me at all," Ari spoke up. Yassen blew a sigh of relief. At least she was okay.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out. "Shut up."

"I will stab you in the jugular vein!" The sound of him hitting her again rang out and Ari was silent.

Yassen grew furious. They had no right to be hitting her. He reached for his gun to go tell those men off, but the back of Yassen's mind flashed a warning. Before he could react, he felt the tip of a gun on his neck.

"So nice of you to join us, Mr. Gregorovitch. Your daughter was just asking about you," the man holding the gun leered.

* * *

Woah! Long chapter! Yay!


	5. Chapter Cinco

Disclaimer: Sadly, no, I cannot be sued.

* * *

Alex woke up in a white room. There was equipment behind the bed he was laying on and a nurse watched them carefully. The bacterial cleaner smell entered Alex's nose and he coughed instinctively.

"Oh, good you're awake." The nurse said, coming towards him.

"How long was I out? How did I get here?" Alex said groggily and tried to sit up. The nurse gently pushed him back down.

"You were out for only an hour. You've suffered minor injuries and a mild concussion. A nice couple saw your Jet Ski wreck and brought you in," she replied, adjusting the instruments.

Alex's memory came back. "Ari!" he managed to get out.

"What?" the nurse asked worriedly.

"Nothing," he replied. Then someone entered and he groaned. It was Mrs. Jones. Alex groaned. "What do you want?"

"We want to know why you were at Yassen Gregorovitch's current residency." She said, matching Alex's tone.

"Oh. Um, I had to talk to Ari."

"And Ari is?"

"The daughter of Yassen…"

Mrs. Jones looked at him incredulously. Alex sigh, and told her everything. After he was done, Mrs. Jones was frowning. "And you care about this girl? Like you did for Sabina?"

"No, no," Alex said. "It's not like that. She's more of a sister to me than anything."

Mrs. Jones looked at him seriously. "Maybe we can help you."

Alex sat up suddenly, head spinning. The nurse pushed him back down again. "You," he said. "You of all people want to _help_ me? You've never cared before, so why now?"

Mrs. Jones smiled. "We have our reasons."

Alex sighed. "Let me guess. Something about more missions and crap, right?"

Mrs. Jones looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Alex."

Alex battled internally with what he wanted and didn't want. It was a dilemma. His mind briefly recognized it as a vocabulary word. Dilemma. Noun. Having reached a state where either decision is unwanted, or something like that. He was never good with vocabulary. "Fine," he muttered.

* * *

"Put your hands behind your head and don't make any sudden movements," Yassen could hear the smirk in the man's voice. Yeah, like Yassen was going to do- "Or we'll shoot the girl."

Okay, never mind, then. That didn't exactly go as planned. The man prodded Yassen in the back with his gun, forcing Yassen to walk forwards. They entered a small room holding two men and Ari, whose hands were bound to the chair she was sitting in. She didn't look to happy to be there, but would anyone be? Doubt it.

She looked up in surprise at Yassen's arrival. She looked almost as if... she hadn't expected him to come. And she also looked guilty as though it was her fault that they were in this mess.

Yassen nodded in greeting to her, and then was forced onto his knees, hands bound behind his back with duct tape. Ew. Did they seriously have to use that stuff? How primitive. Flex cuffs were much easier to use and didn't leave gooey junk on the victims wrists.

As all of this was happening, Yassen took in the room. There were no windows other than a small shoebox sized one facing the runway. The door was bared shut after they entered, and the walls, like the door, were made of metal – much too strong to break through.

Ari nodded back to her father and went back to counting the ceiling tiles. There were six across and four down. Each about a foot and a half by a foot and a half. Ari could do the math, the answer was easy, twenty four tiles, but Ari counted them separately anyways. She was doing it to pass time, not a test.

Yassen noted her preoccupation and looked at the ceiling himself. It looked easy enough to break through. What worried him was what was on the other side. It could be flat metal, or there could be dangerous electrical or gas lines.

A small clock ticking loudly hung on the wall. It was four. Two hours until the plane landed, and another forty five until they took off. Yassen got himself a little more comfortable, or at least as comfortable as he could be while kneeling on cement, earning him a jab with the gun. It would be a long wait.

* * *

Alex got out of the car at the airport. He had no earthly idea how they knew who had kidnapped Ari, maybe they were watching Yassen's house?

But, yet, here he was. The very airport that MI6 knew that Ari, the Assassin, and the kidnappers would be at. Sometimes it was better not to ask questions regarding how MI6 found it's information.

Alex looked at the information in his iPod once more. Smithers had stolen it and modified it into a little computer, so MI6 could send him data. The plane which would be carrying Ari away would land at six and take off forty-five minutes later.

He entered the closest building and walked up to the secretarial desk.

"Um, could you tell me where to wait for flight # 3692?" Alex asked, trying to be polite.

The secretary, obviously, didn't bother being polite, as she chomped on her gum obnoxiously. She typed some commands into the computer and waited for the information to load. "That way," she said, pointing through the window to the second hangar. "Enter through the back, first door on your right. But just go there. I can see you from here." She warned.

Alex agreed and set off for the hangar.

Once he got there, he eased open the doors, letting little light come through. He crept inside, letting the door close silently behind him.

Inside the hangar, it was cool and dark, and big change from the heat and sunlight outside. Instead of going to the first door on his right, Alex went on, searching for anything that might give him a clue as to what was happening.

His head pounded, hurting like crazy. The aches in his muscles didn't do much good either, so he took out his pain medication and swallowed a pill dry, almost retching in the process.

With almost instant relief, he headed on, looking about the great cavernous space before him. There wasn't much to the hangar. Just the main part and the tiny waiting room, which Alex could faintly hear voices floating out of occasionally.

After deciding that Ari could be nowhere else, Alex headed for the small waiting room, hiding out of sight and listening in on the conversation inside.

"Why have you kidnapped my daughter? You're not giving me a straight answer!" Someone, it had to have been Yassen, said from inside. There was a sigh then,

"All right, how about this. We are doing our job, like you should have done." The smirk was evident in the man's voice.

Alex heard Ari speak up. "And… what the heck do you mean?"

"Shut up," the man growled.

"You're not making sense, you big moron," she snapped, and there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and then a gasp of pain.

"Leave her alone, you bastards," Yassen growled.

The man chuckled. "Then why don't you tell her the _real_ reason that she's here?"

"She knows," Yassen growled.

"That would explain…. Nevermind…"

Ari decided to say something retarded, _just like she usually does_, Alex thought. "And what if this were not a hypothetical question?" she said.

Alex almost laughed. He could imagine the look on the guys face.

After a while Alex heard a muffled, "Shut it," from the man and a suppressed giggle from Ari.

One hour and a half hours had gone by since Alex had arrived. Nothing much had happened. Ari made a few more sarcastic remarks, and Yassen growled a bit, and the men jabbed Yassen with the gun a few times. But other than that, it was quite boring.

Alex had found a comfortable niche where he was out of sight and comfortable. He waited there, trying to think of a plan, but just coming up with blanks.

Alex checked his watch again. Two minutes had passes since he last looked at it. He was wondering if he was wearing the battery out by pressing the little yellow button for light.

Nothing much was being said in the room. It had been quiet for a while.

Then some man burst through the hangar door, holding four bags of McDonalds food.

Alex shrunk back from the light, but the man didn't look his way, instead heading for the small waiting room.

* * *

Ari looked up as the door swung open and the smell of McDonald's wafted in the room.

Her stomach growled. The last time she ate was the previous night.

The man must have seen her looking, because he grinned nastily and held one of the bags close to her. "You want some?" he asked.

Unsure, Ari nodded a little bit. The man laughed evilly. "Too bad," he said, and made a show of stuffing his face, making Ari's stomach hurt even more.

"I don't want your charity anyways!" She yelled.

* * *

Another half hour passed in this same manner. But to the end of the hour, the men were getting more excited and jumpy. They knew their boss would be here soon. They would each receive an abundance of cash and go on with their marry lives.

Or at least, their lives, no matter how marry or macabre.

As soon as the men left the room (one man was left to guard it from the outside), Yassen moved closer to Ari and spoke in hushed tones. "Are you okay? There's a nasty cut on your arm."

Ari looked down at it. The blood had stopped flowing, at least, but the dried blood made it look gruesome.

"It's fine," she said. "I wasn't really hurt much."

Yassen nodded as if to say 'good.' "You're probably wondering exactly what all this was about," he began. "You see, there's this powerful man, Victor Heines. He is the leader of an organization having to do with marijuana sales and growth. But, instead of following the rules, he sells it illegally, and also does a few _hits_ on other who threaten to ruin him.

"I was hired to kidnap the daughter of one of these men, but I refused. And in his eyes, it's betrayal, punishable by death. He must have had men watching our house because instead of just killing me, they kidnapped you.

"But be very careful in what you say to him. He has a nasty temper and never, ever-" he was cut off by one of the men entering and pulling Yassen to his feet. Another man followed him and untied Ari from her chair and bound her hands again behind her using duct tape.

They marched the two captives to the plane that had just entered the hangar. They ascended the steps and entered the spacious cabin.

The pilot and co-pilot paid them no mind and ignored them, turning dials and pressing buttons.

The two men escorted Ari and Yassen into the main area of the plane, which was very large. Few decorations were around, and there was almost no color to the room. Ari was forced into a big comfortable chair, while Yassen still stood up.

The small clock over the doorway read six thirty-five. It was ten minutes until they took off. Not nearly enough time for them to escape.

The last pre-flight preparations were completed, and the plane taxied onto the runway, ready for takeoff.


	6. One Bullet

This chapter is dedicated to the movie Air Force One. It gave me lots of inspiration for this chapter!

I actually dreamt the boat thing, but it was Yassen who was hold me hostage. It was really weird.

I actually had a dream about Alex, too. He, my friend, and I were in a golf cart and he was driving and I was sitting on the back, my friend next to him, and we were running from a black convertible driven by my three middle school female PE coaches. And the cart broke, so we were running up a hill… then the dream ended. Haha. I'm pathetic.

Disclaimer: No, Alex Rider nor any other recognizable person belongs to me. Tis sad, I know, but it is the truth. – Sob –

* * *

Alex watched as the plane began to roll. He jumped up, and ran to the wheels, grabbing a hold and swinging on.

He had seen it many times in movies, including Catch Me If You Can, although he was getting OFF it…

But it was so much harder then it looked.

Alex tried to climb into the baggage deck, but the small crawlspace was hard to navigate through. With a shiver, he was reminded of the tunnels and caves back in the mines when spying on Herod Sayle.

Eventually, and with difficulty, Alex climbed into the baggage deck of the plane and stood up shakily.

The plane jerked and Alex toppled over into a pile of luggage. He felt the plane begin to move faster, and realized they were taking off.

His suspicion was confirmed when his ears began to pop. He stood up again and tried to make any rhyme or reason as how to save Ari and get back off the plane.

* * *

Ari and Yassen sat there for a while, the guard who brought them there was still there, too.

When they finally flattened out, a tall man came down the steps. He nodded to the guard, then his eyes traveled to Ari.

She could not suppress a shiver. The man looked as though he would pull out a gun at any moment and shoot you for absolutely no reason. He had a grotesque scar running down his face, over his eyes that reminded Ari of Scar in the Lion King.

He stared at Ari for some more time until Yassen grunted "Victor," he said as if he were greeting him on the street.

Victor slowly turned his gaze to Yassen. "Ah, the traitorous assassin…" he said happily, as if they were his guests at a tea party.

Yassen shot him a dark look that would rival the man himself. "I'd hardly call refusing a job the work of a traitor."

"Shut up." He said and walked over to him in long strides until Victor was inches away from Yassen's face.

"You're nothing," he spit. "You knew what would happen if you refused, but yet, you did so." He punched Yassen in the stomach.

Yassen doubled over, breathing heavily. Victor pushed him to the floor, holding him down with his booted foot.

He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ari. "And because of that, I am going to shoot you daughter." His word, so softly spoken, made Ari's blood run cold. She pressed her back against the seat, frightened.

This was so not happening. She shut her eyes tight and willed the picture of the gun to go away. But it would not.

She opened her eyes, surprised to not hear a gun shot.

Yassen was now restrained with more duct tape to a chair, and Victor was walking over to her.

Ari shrunk back in her chair, afraid of what was going to happen.

He stopped just short of her chair and turned around to face Yassen. Ari couldn't really see what he did, but by the way his ears had pulled up, she knew he had smiled.

He turned back to her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She shivered at his touch, and his smile grew.

"She trembles," Victor said, speaking to Yassen. "She doesn't even know what I'm capable of, yet she is still scared."

"I know enough," Ari growled, trying her best to remain strong.

He narrowed his eyes. "Do you now? Saddam Houssain bombed the twin towers and pentagon in the United States. Who do you think planted that idea in his head? I did. I was in contact with him for three years before the bombings. It took a while, but it still happened. And you know who's name was kept out of the news?

"Mine,"

Ari stared at him in horror and his smile disappeared for a moment, and he almost looked regretful. But then it was gone and his mocking smile had returned.

"And now, I will personally show you just a little of my capabilities of murder. Maybe some hand to hand combat, yes?"

"Leave her alone!" Yassen said, struggling against the ever so sticky duct tape.

"I don't think so," Victor said coldly, and he turned back to Ari and undid her hands. "Fight me, and you will see exactly what I'm capable of."

Ari stared at the man, Victor, numbly. She could fend off bullies at school, but she was clumsy, and if what he said was true, then she would be mince meat.

Swallowing hard, She raised her sweaty fists, hoping for a miracle.

"Come on," he goaded. "Make the first move."

Ari didn't.

"What? Is the little girl afraid?"

"No," she snapped, then tried to feebly punch him.

Suddenly, she was on the ground, pinned down by Victor. He was grinning nastily.

He stood back up, pulling Ari to her feet by the neck of her t-shirt. "Try again," he jeered.

This time, Ari actually tried to make her punch hurt. He just stood there and took it, then returned a punch in her stomach. It knocked the air out of her, leaving her desperately gasping to the air that was just out of her reach.

She tried kicking him in the groin this time. It was always a weak spot for males.

Before her foot connected with his soft spot, Victor grabbed her ankle twisted it around, making Ari crash to the ground, bruising some ribs and making stars dance in her eyes.

Still holding her ankle, he swung her around and she crashed into the wall. Now something was defiantly broken. She cried out in pain, and Victor laughed nastily.

Grinning, Victor picked Ari back up again and dumped her unceremoniously on the couch next to Yassen who had stared coldly at Victor through the whole ordeal.

"If you lay a hand on her again, I will smash you skull into a thousand tiny pieces." Yassen threatened, still staring at him.

Victor laughed. "Though it seems you are the one tied up like a dog, and I am the one gloating."

"So it would seem" Yassen hissed through clenched teeth.

* * *

Alex grimaced as his friend was thrown against the wall.

What Yassen had said sent shivers down Alex's spine, even though it was not directed at Alex. And the man who is WAS directed to, kept his face straight.

The man pulled Ari off the couch and dumped her on the floor near where Alex was hidden, taking a seat next to Yassen as though they were old buddies.

Ari moaned pitifully, then coughed up blood.

Alarmed, Alex crawled over to where she lay, careful to not be seen by the man who had done that to her.

Seeing he could do nothing, he sneaked near where Yassen was, almost being spotted when Victor announced he was going to get drinks.

As he left the room, Alex emerged from hiding, surprising Yassen to a degree.

Not saying anything, Alex took the duct tape off Yassen. It was a ton of duct tape too. Alex was worried that at any time, Victor was going to come back and find him.

After getting free of the sticky-ness, Yassen made a beeline for Ari, checking her pulse and injuries.

A crease appeared ever so present in his forehead as he overlooked her injuries. It told Alex all he needed to know: It was really bad.

"We need to get her off this plane and into a hospital." Yassen finally said. Alex nodded dumbly. Yassen picked her up carefully and left. He started to follow when Victor entered the room again, smiling sickly.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd be joining us, Alex Rider. But it seems first that we need to find your friends, yes?"

Yassen stopped. Alex hadn't followed him back out.

He heard Victor's voice floating down the empty hallway. Great, just what he needed was to save the brat, Rider, too.

Sighing, he laid Ari down gently on a couch in a small room, promising he would be right back. Ari nodded feebly and closed her eyes.

Closing the door softly behind him, he crept back towards where Alex had been.

Sure enough, he was there, and so were Victor and the guard from before who had left after Victor came in.

Annoyed with having to save Alex, he stepped into the room. "I'm sorry, we were just leaving," Yassen said, pulling Alex to his feet and pulling him back out the door. Yassen silently cursed himself. That was stupid. He should have gone for a surprise attack. NOT the amateur thing he had just done.

"I don't think so," Victor said coldly, looking pointedly at the guard who had a gun pointing at Yassen's heart.

In a split second, Yassen lunged at the guard, catching him under the chin and grabbing at the gun, but the guard would not let go.

When Yassen lunged at the guard, Victor tried to fend him off, but ended up crashing into Alex, knocking him unconscious.

Alex moaned once, and then laid still. Yassen cursed again, this time out loud.

"Tsk, tsk, such language," Victor taunted and Yassen kicked back. But, like with Ari, Victor grabbed a hold of Yassen's ankle, tearing him away from the guard.

The gun was torn out of the guard's hand. Yassen had a very good hold on it, and was not about to let it go. He pulled up the gun and without aiming, shot the guard in the head.

He fell limp, and Yassen kicked back again at Victor, this time pulling free. Two more guards rushed into the room, waving guns. Yassen shot them both with deadly accuracy, seeming to not even aim.

A third guard got in, but Victor had jumped on Yassen, trying to wrestle the gun away from him. Bullets were repeatedly fired from the poor gun, and a stray one buried itself into the guard's thigh.

The guard gasped and fell to his knees. His eyes were black and he aimed the gun carefully at Yassen's head. There was no way he could miss.

His hand tightened on the trigger, and with one last check at his aim,

He fired a single shot.


	7. Beep?

Yassen is a little out of character in this chapter, but that would be because we've never seen him in a situation like this so no one knows how he would act!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own them, leave me alone so I can type fast as to not be killed!

* * *

Ari listened in fear at the fight going on a little bit away from where she lay.

Terrified for Alex and her Father, she listened as someone was beating someone else, and hoped it was not Alex or Yassen that was on the receiving end.

Not being able to stand the suspense or being a damsel, she gathered up what little energy she had left and stood up.

Immediately she felt dizzy and grabbed a hold of the nearest object to steady herself. She took one step, then another. As long as she held onto something steady, she could move forward. If she tried to let go, she would collapse.

The last five feet, Ari almost fell over from sheer exhaustion. She hadn't eaten since the night before, and even then, it wasn't much. Grabbing onto the doorframe for support, Ari looked in at the fight.

It looked bad. Alex was laying unconscious in a corner, a trickle of blood seeping from his scalp. Yassen looked pretty bad too.

When guards entered and Yassen just shot them, Ari couldn't help but feel her blood run cold. This was _real_, not some James Bond or Harrison Ford movie. Those men were really dead. Someone's son. Someone's brother, Grandchild, Father, Uncle, Cousin, Nephew, and who knows what else. Yassen had really killed him. A life, just gone in a flash by a silver bullet.

Ari felt as if _she_ had gotten hit by the bullets. She went numb. This wasn't her father. It couldn't be.

_No._

But it was.

A stray bullet whizzed past Ari's head and she opened her mouth, as if to scream, but no sound came out. She just stood there and stared as the life of two more men winked out. Just like that. As if someone pinched a candle flame between their fingers.

The last man standing pointed a gun at Yassen. Just as he was firing, Ari finally was able to scream, distracting the guard and Victor long enough for her father to get away.

He shot the guard in the middle of the chest.

_Another life._

The guard fell to the floor, now littered with sickening bodies, making Ari want to throw up.

She couldn't help but think about how disgusting it was. Four lives had been taken in the span of about five minutes.

Victor had managed to get the dead man's gun, and now both of them had a gun. Victor raised the gun, but before he had time to aim, a bullet buried itself into the left side of his chest.

His eyes were hard. He moved the gun and pointed it straight at Ari. Pulling the trigger, the bullet flew at Ari, and before Yassen could do anything,

_The bullet hit her._

Everything seemed to slow down. It was not as everyone had always said. Ari's life didn't flash before her eyes, rather, she fell forward, supporting her body with her hands.

The bullet shot into Victor finally managed to shut down his body, falling at the same time Ari did. Yassen ran to Ari, supporting her back.

She could hardly focus on what was going on. She felt herself being rocked back and forth, but the world was going white. The dead bodies disappeared and all that was there was just her and a warm glow of sunlight, beckoning closer.

But something pulled her back. It was the sound of her father's voice that kept her from leaving. They had spent such little time together.

But the pull of the light was too great. She saw the smiling face of her mother in the distance.

The figure drew closer. Ari reached out a hand to touch her mother's face, but the closer she got, the further off she seemed.

"Wait," she whispered. Her mother held out a hand, and Ari reached for it.

"_Please don't go, Ari,"_

It was just a simple sentence, but it brought Ari back to reality. There was blood seeping all over her shirt, but she couldn't feel anything, half expecting it was some kind of sick joke.

Her father was crying now. No one had ever seen the assassin cry. He was too strong for that.

But as he held her, rocking back and forth, tears escaped his eyes and ran down his face, giving him a vulnerable look.

Ari tried to smile and reached a shaking hand up to his face. "It will be okay, Dad," she whispered, her arm fell back and then she closed her eyes.

* * *

Alex woke up all alone. Well, he wasn't exactly alone; five dead bodies littered the floor next to him.

Suppressing a shiver, Alex headed up towards the cockpit.

The Assassin was there along with two dead bodies and a bloody Ari.

"Oh God," he gasped, seeing the state Ari was in. In a flash, Yassen had whirled around and held a gun to his head, but brought it back down once he saw it was Alex.

"Sorry," he said almost sarcastically. "I would have brought you up here, but I was a little busy with other matters," he said, looking pointedly at the two dead pilots. He shook his head. "Even when faced with death, they are loyal to their leader. Even when he himself is dead."

Alex looked back at Ari again. "When will we land?"

"The computer is flying right now. We will land in Germany in about fourteen minutes. It is the closest airport at the moment. There, I will take Ari to the airport and you can contact your MI6."

"No," Alex said forcefully. "I want to stay with Ari."

Yassen shrugged. "Be my guest," he said. "But don't count on getting _your_ MI6 caught up in this."

"_Your_ MI6?" Alex said incredulously. "You think I actually _like_ them? I probably hate them as much as you do. They're the reason my family is dead. They are the reason I was almost killed all those times. They are the reason I'm here right now!"

That was obviously not the right thing to say. In a moment, Yassen went from slightly relaxed to alert and tense. "They sent you here?"

Alex shrugged. "I followed you and ended up wrecking my Jet Ski, so MI6 was at the hospital and told me what flight and what airport and stuff."

Yassen nodded, seeming to relax just a hair.

* * *

Exactly fourteen minutes later, they landed without difficulty. Yassen could expertly fly the plane and make up for Alex's incompetence as a copilot when landing.

The officials did little to hinder their fight to get to the airport. Alex decided that Yassen must have called ahead, because there was an ambulance waiting for them. "Mr. Gregorovitch!" they called, and Yassen, still carrying Ari, climbed inside, allowing her to be taken from his arms. There was enough room for Alex to be squashed in, and they took off for the hospital.

Inside, Ari was immediately rushed into surgery. This was obviously an upscale hospital, efficient, and no one asked any unwanted questions.

A nurse checked over Yassen and Alex, making sure they were okay.

Alex had suffered slight blunt force trauma to the head, and many of the injuries from the Jet Ski wreck were looked at, tutted over, and wrapped.

Yassen faired worse. He had bruising to the ribs and multiple small fractures, and minor bruises.

But it was Ari that fell under the 'Near death experience' category. She was the worst. She had three broken ribs, internal bleeding to her lungs, wrist fractured, and a small, minor crack in her skull. Not to mention a bullet hole right beneath her left lung. The bullet had barely missed a main artery, and luckily, no permanent damage was done. But the doctors had trouble dislodging the bullet, and were concerned that there was the possibility that she would not wake up.

That scared Alex and Yassen the most. The thought of Ari as a vegetable made Alex want to cry and Yassen want to beat his fist against something. She _had_ to wake up.

Ari was part of Yassen's life for so little. The assassin everybody knows would have just shrugged, maybe not even adopt her at all, but the Yassen only Ari and her mother had ever seen was at the breaking point inside.

Staying in the waiting room was killing him. The hospital smelled like Lysol. Yassen needed fresh air, but couldn't stand being outside. With a hysterical laugh, it occurred to him that he was probably slowly losing his sanity while his only daughter was down the hall being operated on to save her life.

Without even noticing it, Yassen had ruined a German magazine that was sitting on one of the tables. He quickly put it back, not wanting to deface something else.

Alex was amazed. It was hard for him to believe that the person sitting across from him was the man he thought he knew. He was worried sick for Ari, but he could tell it wasn't half as bad as what was going on inside Yassen's mind. He was startled when Yassen laughed, almost sobbing. His eyes brimmed with tears, but then they were gone, wiped away by a quick flash of an arm, and he became a cold shell again.

Finally, after so much waiting, the doctor said that she was out of surgery, stable, and sleeping calmly. They went in to see her.

The sight nearly ripped Yassen's heart out. A dark bruise mottled the left side of her face, and she looked so small sitting there with sheets pulled up to her neck. She looked almost peaceful, but there was a hint of something dark in her expression as she slept. Pain and suffering.

Yassen slept by her bedside that night, and Alex had curled up on the couch. Neither of them wanted to leave her side except to go to the bathroom or get an occasional snack to keep them nourished. An unspoken treaty existed at the moment, brought about by concern for Ari.

The next morning, the doctors returned, and they looked worried.

"Will she wake up?" Yassen asked, his voice horse.

One of them spoke up. "We hope so, there's no reason why she shouldn't."

"But?"

"But nothing, we are going to inject her with a serum that will most likely boost her brain activity, causing her to wake up. But at first, she may have temporary amnesia. It only occurs rarely, but with young teens, it happens more often then not. She should be fine by tomorrow."

Yassen swallowed and nodded. Alex, for once, didn't make some smart remark to make a fool of himself.

They pumped some odd colored liquid into the IV attached to her hand.

Nothing happened.

The beeping of the heart monitor remained a steady _beep… beep……… beep……… beep……… beep……_ (etc), reminding them all that a small girl's life was on the line.

"Increase the dose by twenty percent," A doctor commanded, and they tried again.

_Beep……… beep……… be-beep……… beep………_

Everyone was holding their breath. The falter in her heart rate was the only difference.

"Forty percent," the doctor commanded again.

"Sir, is that safe?" one of the nurses piped up.

"Do it," the doctor said, obviously not used to being questioned.

More liquid was pumped from the IV, through the tube, into the needle, and entered her veins.

_Beep……… beep……… beee…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(ect)._

The warning siren went on. The nurses and doctors started hurrying again, fiddling with controls, one even looking like she was preparing for CPR.

Yassen stood as still as a statue, keen eyes surveying everything going on. Alex watched them in silence, hoping to god she would make it.

Silence.

"_YOU'VE KILLED HER!!!"_ Yassen exploded.

The doctor looked regretful. "TOD: Ten thirty-six a.m."

Yassen was red in the face. Then, surprising Alex, he started sobbing. Not exactly sobbing, but hitched breathing. It was sort of like dry retching.

Then a sound that was all music to their ears.

_Beep……… beep……… beep………_

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

People were talking, the doctors trying to explain what had happened.

"Dad?" The voice was soft, hardly audible. Only the few surrounding people could barely hear it, but everyone stopped talking.

Yassen stood up with shaking legs and walking the two feet over to her. "Yes?"

"I told you it would be okay."

He closed his eyes for a moment, and almost looked like they were sharing a private joke.

"I saw Mum," she went on, her voice barely above a whisper. "She wanted me to go with her, but it wasn't my time. You saved me." This made Yassen want to hug her, but he knew it would cause more harm then good.

"Thank you for not leaving me," he whispered back, ignoring the other people in the room.

She smiled weakly. "You're welcome."


	8. Epilogue

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me through the story and given your constant support! I love you all!

The Final Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN IT!!!!!!

* * *

Ari slept peacefully. Sometimes her dreams were shattered by images of the dead bodies, but most of the time she slept without interruption. Even the lights on the hospital equipment didn't bother her anymore.

She had been in the hospital for two weeks now. Just one more and she would be released. It smelled so… _Lysol-ly_.

Alex had gone home for school the next night, and Ari had convinced Yassen to go home and get a good night's rest for one night of her whole entire hospital stay.

So it was quiet, only an occasional nurse would sneak in ever so quietly and make sure that Ari's vital systems were okay.

Suddenly, a gun shot rang out, disturbing the quiet. Ari awoke suddenly, not quite sure if it was in her dream or not. Stronger now, she got out of bed and looked out the door. Two men in dark clothes were running down the hall, making no noise.

Startled, Ari closed the door and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She curled up in the bottom of the small shower, trying to be invisible. After all that had happened, she defiantly did not want to be kidnapped again. There was no way.

Silently, she told herself not to be so dramatic, they probably didn't have anything to do with her.

That hope was shattered as a gunshot rang out and the door to her room burst open.

_**-fin-**_

* * *

And now, this story has a sequel! Drawn to Revenge. Check it out!


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